Cancelled
by FoamytheFearless
Summary: My version of how and why the Cartoon show got cancelled! A sequel to Don't Call Me Penelope. The dystopian romance continues. NosedivexOC, WildwingXCanard. T rating for language and themes.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I do not own the Mighty Ducks!

Nosedive's POV

"Are you ready?" Tanya asked.

We were in the Aerowing, waiting for Tanya to open up a dimensional gateway. She'd finally done it. With the help of Silverwing (who stole the blueprints), she was able to create a gateway generator to go on the front of the Aerowing and several little handheld ones for us to carry around.

We were finally going to go home.

"I've been ready!" said Mallory. She hated feeling stuck on Earth and I really didn't blame her, especially since Earth was becoming a hellhole for women. If a certain bill got passed, Mal and Tanya wouldn't even be able to play hockey anymore. At least not with guys.

Fortunately, the bill hadn't been introduced yet, so even if it was passed, it probably wouldn't go into effect until next season. Because of that, we promised Phil we'd be back in time for to play the preseason games we had lined up. We weren't leaving permanently unless we got so fed up with Earth that we couldn't take it anymore. After all, I'd met somebody. I hadn't known her long, but I knew I didn't want to leave her.

Besides, the girls weren't about to quit playing hockey without a fight.

So this was just a test run to see if the gateway generators actually worked.

Without hesitation, Tanya pressed a button and a humongo vortex opened up in front of us.

"We HAVE to hear the theme from Star Wars when we fly through," I said, and put in the CD.

"Better than that metal stuff you listen to," said Grin. "Metal disturbs my inner peace."

Flying through that vortex while listening to the theme from Star Wars was epic. If you ever get to fly to another dimension, I recommend having epic music on hand or else it's just not the same.

As soon as we came out the other end of the vortex, our icy planet came into view.

"I'm kind of nervous," admitted Wildwing. "We don't know what it's like since we left. There could still be drones all over the place. Or it could have been taken over by a species worse than the Saurians."

"That's why we fly around and do a little recon before we land," said Mallory. Everyone nodded. That seemed like the best idea. Not that I was scared, but everyone else kinda was.

Soon we located our home continent, Takidon, and flew close to the surface.

"I don't see any drones," said Tanya.

It was true. There were no drones, but there weren't any ducks either. The cities looked like ghost towns.

"Do you suppose…?" Duke didn't finish his question.

"Let's get out and see," said Mallory.

We landed the Aerowing at the square where we used to hang out and play hockey (rakten, in our language). The statue of Drake DuCaine had been blown to bits, which pissed me off.

"I don't think anyone survived," said Wildwing.

"Naaah," I tried to be optimistic. But I knew what he was thinking: if everybody had died, that included our parents, who we'd been separated from in the invasion. I tried not to think about it.

We kept walking, heading to the shopping district. There were several destroyed drones scattered about, and half the buildings' doors had been left hanging open. It was eerie.

"It's my sister's candy factory," said Mallory, who darted into an abandoned building. The rest of us followed.

Everything was surprisingly intact. The shelves were still fully stocked with candy, which had been preserved by our cold weather. I shouldn't have been surprised; Drones don't eat, so of course they would leave everything intact.

Mallory looked down and sighed. "I should have been nicer to my sister," she said, holding back tears. I'd never seen her like that before.

"I always called her a wimp because she didn't go into the military. The whole family treated her like shit, and now…"

Wildwing put a hand on Mallory's shoulder.

I was sympathetic, but also hungry. So sue me. I grabbed a candy puck from the shelf and started taking the wrapper off.

That's when we heard a noise. Duke drew his sabre and I kept a hand on my puck blaster.

"It's coming from that supply closet," said Tanya.

Grin and I walked over to the supply closet and looked at each other. Grin pulled the door off the hinges and revealed a small girl munching on a candy bar. Duke put away his sabre.

"It's a kid!" I exclaimed. "Not everyone's dead!" I reached down to pick up the kid and she kicked me right in the nuts.

"My candy!" said the kid. "I'm not going back to that orphanage!" She ran out the door while I howled in pain.

"Tough kid," said Duke.

"Hey kid!" called Mallory. "Come back!" Mallory ran outside after the kid.

Now, that kid was tough, but she wasn't as fast as Mallory. We ran outside and watched as Mallory picked up the kid.

"I'm not gonna hurt you!" said Mallory. "You're the first duck we've seen. I was hoping you could tell me about my sister. Have you seen a red-haired duck about my height named Eianna?"

The kid nodded. "She works with Airstrike and Dal at the orphanage! With her husband! They make me eat healthy food and I'm not going BACK!" She kicked and squirmed, but Mallory wasn't fazed.

"Oh, yes you are!" Mallory ordered. "If my sister's alive, you're taking me to her!"

"Or else she'll cry," I said. "You don't want her to cry." Because sometimes pulling on the heartstrings works better than cussing and raising hell, even if cussing and rising hell is more fun. Mallory glared at me.

"I don't want you to cry," said the Kid. "I'll tell you where your sister is."

"Good," I said. "She might even be able to tell us where everyone else is." By "everyone else," I meant our parents, but I really didn't want to get Wingster's hopes up.

"PUT ME DOWN!" screamed the kid.

"If you promise not to run away," Mal replied.

"…OK." The kid proceeded to lead us down the road. "I'm Yalfi, by the way."

"I'm Dive," I said. "My friends in the punk scene call me the Hesher. So, are all the drones really gone?"

The kid nodded. "They were destroyed. Mr. Canard and the orphanage ladies destroyed 'em all before the orphanage was started."

"Canard!?" Wildwing's eyes lit up.

The kid nodded casually. "He's a guard at the dimensional prison now, but he donates healthy food shit to the orphanage sometimes." The girl stuck her tongue out.

"I don't like to eat healthy shit either," I admitted.

"Then can we be friends?" asked the girl.

"If you don't kick me in the balls again."

The girl led us to an old store, kinda like Earth's department stores, on the edge of town that had been converted to an orphanage. Mallory ran ahead and tried to open the door.

"You have to use the secret knock," said the little girl. She knocked once, paused, and knocked four times. The door swung open and another Mallory popped out. Only this one had longer hair.

"SISTER!" Mallory exclaimed. She took her sister in her arms and said "I am so, so, sorry." I'd never seen her be so….nice, before.

"It's OK," said Eianna. "It's OK. I have a surprise for you. Me and Erak have a baby! You have to come in and meet her, and tell us what happened to you! Canard was afraid you all might be dead."

"We didn't think Canard was alive!" said Wildwing. "We have to go see him."

"You'll see him soon," said Eianna. "He comes by every few days to help with the orphanage."

We went inside and sat on some couches that had been there since back when the place was a store. Kids were running around everywhere. Eianna's husband (Erak?) came and placed a bundle in her arms.

"This is Lara," she said. Lara was this tiny little redheaded thing, so adorable even if she did look like Mallory.

"So little and innocent," said Grin.

"Innocent my ass," said Eianna. "She loves to throw her poop. In an orphanage full of kids, this one's the biggest handful."

We all laughed.

"So, I'm guessing you're Grin," Eianna said to Grin. "Canard told me all of your names. He said Grin's the big one, the genius is Tanya, the scoundrel is Duke, the handsome one's Wildwing, and the sarcastic blond is Nosedive."

"Naw," I said sarcastically.

"Canard's going to be so happy to have his Wildwing back!"

Wing smiled and Mallory looked away. I've got this theory that she has the hots for Wildwing. He seems to like her too, but not enough to cheat on Canard. With Canard definitely still being alive, I knew things were about to turn into a soap opera.

Yalfi was bored because nobody was paying attention to her, so she ran in the kitchen and got some berries, which she just started throwing all over the floor and stomping on them, squirting juice everywhere and staining the floor. Eianna sighed. It was too much. Another woman appeared and started yelling, "Food is scarce! You start wasting food and I'm gonna put you in time out!"

Yalfi walked right up to the woman and smashed a bunch of berries into her feathers, staining them bright red. The woman growled and said "I quit!"

"That's Airstrike," said Eianna. "She's the founder, and she's not quitting. She's just frustrated. There's so many abandoned kids and eggs after the invasion. It's so hard to keep an eye on all of them. Nobody feels like they're financially stable enough to adopt, so these kids have been here for a long time. It's really sad."

"Maybe we can help," said Wildwing. "How about you come with us to Earth?"

"So these kids can learn to act like a bunch of HUMANS?" snarled Mallory.

"It'll be alright," I said. "They can learn from the Dive!"

"Even worse."

The orphanage was already crowded, but Airstrike and the others told us we were welcome to stay there until Canard came. It worked out: Mallory got a chance to catch up with her sister and there was plenty of food considering the planet's situation. Airstrike and her husband, Dal, made a huge dinner for us and we ate until we were stuffed.

After dinner, Wildwing slipped out the door without telling anyone where he was going.

I sighed and went after him. By that time it was almost too dark outside to see. I pulled my coat tighter around me. I guess I'd gotten more used to the California weather than I thought.

"Where are you going?" I asked my brother. "Are you OK? I mean, the drones are gone and your man's coming to see ya. What's wrong?"

"I have to know."

I nodded. I wanted to find our parents too, but I didn't know where to start. "Where should we look?"

"I don't know," he groaned.

"Hm…." I thought about it for a while. "FRINDEL! Maybe FRINDEL knows where they are!"

"The little tea kettle that used to come over and write lyrics with you?"

"That's the one!"

"Who you and Mom tried to teach how to sing?"

"That's right. Let's go to his cave!"

Yes. Frindel. Frindel most likely went the whole invasion without being attacked, just because he's so tiny he's hard to see unless you're looking for him. He's a little flying mammal called a streel, similar to Earth's bats. And he's higher pitched than the dude from Stryper. Luckily his skills as a lyricist make up for it.

He got on Wildwing's nerves just like Wildwing's preppy friends got on mine.

"What if we meet a yask?" asked Wildwing.

"We have puck blasters."

We both knew yask were dangerous. Yask hunters had to go through a year of training unless they wanted to die on a hunting trip. But they usually didn't have military grade weapons.

Frindel's cave wasn't far. I'd been there a hundred times, so I found it without any trouble. But we didn't have any flashlights, so we stood by the mouth of the cave and called Frindel's name.

Right on cue he came flying out of the cave, glowing in the dark and squealing like a castrato. "FRIENDS! You're not dead!" He gave Wildwing a kiss on the cheek and said "EEEEEEE!"

"Glad you're doing well," I said. Wildwing wiped the streel slobber off his cheek.

And that's when our mom walked out of the cave with a baby in her arms and some dude who was not our dad. He looked vaguely familiar, but I didn't really take the time to look him over. Wildwing and I hugged our mom and cried tears of joy.

"I thought I heard my sons' voices," said Mom. "I'm so glad you're safe. I thought I'd lost you in the invasion." She was crying too.

"We're here," said Wildwing. "We're alive and the drones are gone."

"The drones are gone?"

Wing nodded. "The world's recovering."

"I didn't know….I've been in this cave hiding out for so long with Dirk, Snow, and Frindel…By the way, Snow is your little sister."

It took me a while to process what I was hearing. "We have a sister?"

Mom nodded. "Your father…your father died saving her from the drones before she hatched."

"And who is that dude?" I asked bluntly.

"Oh, that's Dirk. Um…I've been looking out for him, you know? He needs my brawn."

Now, my mom is 5'4 and looks like a duck version of Dolly Parton. Unless you knew her personally, you wouldn't know that she's the "brawn" in any situation. Truth is she's actually a badass little woman. She overcame her size to become one of the best goalies on the planet.

"So…is he your boyfriend?"

She hesitated a moment, and then nodded. And that's when I lost it.

"Our dad's dead and you're fuckin' some random-ass dude!?" I've never talked to my mom like that before and I'll never do it again. I'm still ashamed of it to this day. But how would you feel if you'd just found out your dad was dead and that your mom was already fucking some random-ass dude? Sometimes I would butt heads with my dad, but he sure deserved better than that shit. I stormed off into the woods.


	2. Chapter 2

Nosedive's POV

At first it had looked like everything was gonna be great. Canard was alive, Mom was alive, and I had a little sister. But the minute I found out my father was dead, everything went down the crapper. How could my mom already be with someone else? It was just too much to handle. I had to go off into the woods and calm my nerves.

Of course, Mom, Frindel, and Wildwing weren't about to let that happen. Mom and Wildwing sent little Frindel to watch me.

"I looooove you," said Frindel, who landed on my shoulder. "As a friend," he added awkwardly, so I would know he wasn't trying to flirt. "Don't be mad at your mom. She didn't meeeean to fall in love with Dirk. It just happened. She rescued him and they fell in love."

"She's in love with him?"

"Yeah," Frindel sighed. "But she didn't want to be at first! She rescued him from a Yask and it just happened. They bonded through almost dying. That happens when people almost die sometimes."

Frindel's even more blunt than me. Not to mention awkward. Normally his way of wording things would elicit a few chuckles from me, but this time his bluntness was just morbid and unnecessary.

"Oh, come on," he said, "Your mom's hot. I can't blaaaame him."

"That's enough! Go!"

"Wildwing wants me to protect you."

"I think I can look out for myself, Frindel."

"But, but! We're friends! So how have you been, friend? Did you beat Dragaunus? Did you singlehandedly save the planet?"

"I've been ok, Dragaunus is missing, I'll explain it later."

"Now that I know the droooones are gone, I'm gonna start a BAND!"

"I have a band."

"Tell me about your band."

"Not in the mood. My dad's dead and my mom's disrespecting him. And I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, Wildwing's not happy about it either. He's just too nice to say anything about it."

"How do you know?"

"I know my brother."

"Hey," Frindel said, "At least she's alive."

"….yeah. You know what? I'm being a dick. I need to go back and see my mom. I guess I just didn't expect her to do something like that. That's all. She always was my role model."

It's true: my mom taught me you can be a short shit and still kick ass. She's one of the last ducks to believe in Drake DuCaine. And she's the reason I'm so dead set against ever having to use autotune. My mom loves music. She wouldn't let me sing along with the songs that came on unless I sounded perfect. Dad never could sing. She'd get so mad at him for loudly drowning out whatever song she was listening to by singing off key at the top of his lungs. So yeah, she made me a little bit of an elitist.

"Let's go let's go!" said Frindel.

"You lead the way." He pretty much had to. I could barely see. Luckily, he can make himself glow in the dark. It was kind of like following one of those will o' the wisps from human folklore.

I cursed myself the whole way back for being such a dick and pulled my mom, who was holding my new sister, into a big hug the moment we were back.

"I'm just glad you're alive," I said. "I'm gonna stop acting like a yask warkis and be there for you."

Mom sighed. "I understand why you're upset."

"Don't worry about it. Things could be a lot worse." She could be dead like my father. I pulled Dirk into a hug too. It wasn't his fault she chose him.

"I'm glad your tantrum's over," said Wilding. "We need to get Mom and the baby girl some place warm and safe."

I nodded. Frindel flew to Wildwing's shoulder and started bugging him. "So," he asked, "How are you doing? Have you been to other planets? Is Dragaunus missing? How about Canard? Are you still dating Canard? Is he OK? Have you seen any neat looking aliens? Have you missed me? Huh huh huh?"

I tried not to laugh and Wildwing shook his head.

Frindel continued, "Now that I know the war's over, we can get you and Nosedive and your mom a house, and I can make candy, and I can have my buddy Womble over, and we can make music and tell stories and have so much fun!"

"If so, I'll have to bring my girlfriend," I told him.

He gasped dramatically. "You have a girlfriend? Who is she? What's she look like? Is she cool? Is she preeeeeeeetty?"

"She is. She's a human, a person from a planet called Earth which is in a whole 'nother dimension. She's like a duck with no bill and no feathers. But she's got long dark hair and a mind-blowing body. You'd just have to see her to understand."

"You've been to other planets?" Mom asked.

"We have a lot to tell you. When we get back to the old store we'll fix you a hot drink and explain everything."

Back at the old store, Airstrike got a pillow and blanket for Mom. We all huddled close together on the floor to keep warm. They even had an extra baby blanket for the little one. Dirk stayed quiet, unsure if I was willing to accept him yet.

"Are you ready for an extremely long story?" asked Wildwing.

"Sure!" said Mom.

And so, Wildwing told her everything. He told her how Canard had found us and recruited us for the resistance, how he risked his life to save us, and how we've been stuck on Earth fighting Dragaunus, who is now mysteriously missing. She got to meet Duke, Grin, Tanya, and Mallory for the first time.

"We have a new teammate, too!" said Duke, although I wasn't sure how he felt about seeing Silverwing when we went back to Earth. He seems a little competitive with him at times.

"I want to hear more about Nosedive's exotic alien girlfriend," said Frindel. "Do you loooooooooove her, Nosedive?"

"…yes." I said. "I do."

"You just met her!" said Mallory. "You don't know if you love her yet!"

"I think I know myself better than you know me, Mallory."

"I'm just saying, you're too young. You're still maturing. It's seldom really love at your age."

"Oh, I see. Thanks for your insight Dr. Freud. I'm obviously too stupid to know my own heart and mind."

"Doctor who?"

"Not Dr. Who! Dr. Freud! You wouldn't like him. He thought women had penis envy."

"You will respect my son," said Mom sternly. "If he says he is in love, he is in love. Now be silent."

Mallory glared at her, but was smart enough not to say anything. Somehow my little tiny mother could intimidate just about anybody, even Mallory. After that, everyone agreed it was best to get some sleep. We could argue another day. Besides, soon we'd be seeing Canard!

Most of us slept in our blankets on the floor so that the children could have the beds. It wasn't comfortable, but it didn't take long for us to drift off.

Next thing we knew, Mallory's sister was singing joyfully, "Canaaaaaaard's here!" Wildwing bolted up instantly, but I gave myself some time to stretch and yawn. I watched Wildwing run to the door and greet Canard, whose arms were full of donations for the orphanage. The moment he saw Wildwing, he dropped the boxes on his feet and yelped in pain.

"Wildwing!"

"Canard!"

"WILDWING!"

"CANARD!"

They embraced each other tightly, Canard ignoring the pain in his toes.

"I thought you were gone," said Wing.

"I survived," said Canard. "I'm here. We'll never be apart again."

"I have so much to tell you…you have to come with us and see the planet we've been living on."

"I will, Wildwing. I will. I'm so glad you're safe."

Mallory watched with a scowl on her face. She knew she'd never have Wildwing now. As for me, I was glad he had his lover back. But seeing their mushy, lovey behavior just made me long for my own love back on Earth.


	3. Chapter 3

Nosedive's POV

It was decided that Canard, Mom, Frindel, Dirk, and my little sister, Snow, would come with us to Earth while Eianna, Airstrike, and the other orphanage workers would stay behind and watch the orphans, at least for the time being. Canard had acquired his own ship, so those who couldn't fit in the Aerowing rode in his ship. Since Wing and Canard had missed each other so much. Wing, Mom, Snow, Frindel and I would ride with Canard while Mallory flew the Aerowing.

We would follow behind the Aerowing, since the Aerowing had the gateway generator and would be opening up the portal.

Once we were fastened in, Canard asked us why we had to go back to Earth in the first place.

"I signed a contract!" said Wildwing. "I'm on a hockey team on Earth and I can't just quit."

"Besides," I added, "I've got a girlfriend, a band, and a CARTOON SHOW!"

"A cartoon show?" asked Canard.

"Shit," I said. "We need to meet up with our writer and tell him what all's been going on with us so he can make some new episodes."

"That's mainly your responsibility," said Wildwing. It's true. I worked very closely with Dave. I couldn't wait to tell him everything that had taken place in the last few weeks, but we'd have to be careful about how much we actually put in the show. We didn't need members of PPOF, the group that was trying to control America, coming and trying to take our new gateway genserators so they could conquer the universe.

"So," Canard asked Wildwing, "have you been faithful?"

"Of course!" my brother replied. "Dive's the one attracted to humans, not me."

"Hey Wingster," I said, "you're the one with a crush on Pete Burns."

"Nosedive…" Wildwing grumbled and Frindel giggled.

"Aw, don't lie! He spins you right round, baby, right round!"

Wildwing grumbled, "It' not like I've ever met him."

"You want to though! That's the way uh huh uh huh you like it!"

"Who is Pete Burns?" asked Canard.

"Singer from Dead or Alive," I said. "I'll show you a picture when we get to Earth."

Meanwhile

Fang's POV

I was sitting on the bleachers near the track during Phys Ed, deep into the book I was reading. It was a fascinating novel about a female knight. I needed to read this book. It was the only way to keep from worrying about Nosedive, who I feared may never come back from his planet to be with me. Any number of things could happen to him, or he could find someone he love more…

Of course, when I'm at school, I can never read in peace.

Right as I was getting to the good part, where the knight is about to face her enemy, I was brought back to reality by the voice of that kid named Eaton who looks like a donkey. "Hey Penelope," he said.

"My name. Is Fang." I growled.

"Well, Fang, I think you should know something. Remember when Andy Coggs asked you to sing for everybody this morning? Well he's standing around with everyone making fun of your singing."

Of course. Somehow it had gotten out that I'd started singing thrash metal. Previously, I'd been a hotel singer and only did pretty songs about animal rights and social justice. But I'd recently discovered I was pretty good at thrash, and I fell in love with it. It had given me a safe way to let out my anger and aggression. I needed thrash. It was therapeutic for me. But I hadn't told anyone at school about it besides Doom, my bass player. I guess some kids had overheard me talking to Doom about it because earlier that day, Andy Coggs had asked me to demonstrate my thrash singing for everybody.

Normally, I didn't tell the people at school anything about myself, because they inevitably used it against me. But when Andy asked me to sing, I didn't want to be a coward. So I sang for him. And he lied, saying it sounded good. I never should have trusted anybody from this damn school.

So that brings us to the present. "Where is Andy?" I asked Eaton.

He pointed to a circle of jocks standing around at the other end of the track. Without a word I took off towards them. I needed metal for my mental well-being. How dare they ruin it for me by mocking me.

"Hey," said one of the boys when I reached them. "Sing for us." He snickered and the others began laughing. My eyes locked on Andy, who was at least a hear taller than me and well muscled from years of playing sports.

"You're a football player," I said. "Don't you have better things to be doing than mocking me behind my back?!" My blood was boiling, my hands were tingling. I didn't even realize I was running towards him.

Next thing I knew, I was on the woodland trail that goes up behind the school, looking down at Andy's bruised, bloody, unconscious body. Apparently I'd chased him up there and kicked his ass. To my relief, nobody else was in sight. If any authorities had tried to follow us, we must have outrun them.

I hoped Andy wasn't dead. I had no idea how long he had been unconscious. It could have been a couple seconds or a couple hours. The realization that he could be dead sickened and terrified me. I'd never meant to kill him. I reached down and felt for his pulse.

He was alive. Thank goodness. I've heard that once you kill it changes you forever. I didn't want that. My first thought was to leave his unconscious body there alone, but I thought better of it. Besides, I wanted to get an apology out of the asshole.

Soon, he began to stir. He sat up.

"What do you have to say to me?" I asked, coming down from my adrenaline rush. Soon I'd be exhausted and sore.

He looked around. It took him a while to remember everything. "Listen," he said. "It's best for both of us if we never speak of this. If anyone finds out, you'll go to jail, and everyone will know I got my…that I was in a fight with a girl." He tried to downplay the fact that I'd beaten him severely.

"Don't worry," I said. "I don't want to go to jail."

"Good, because if you do tell anyone, I will press charges." He slowly got to his feet.

I didn't even want to think about that. "I won't tell anyone, but you need to go to a doctor. Any time you get knocked out, you should see a doctor. Just tell the doctor it was a bar fight."

"Good plan," he said. We walked toward the school, me feeling more exhausted by the second. If we went to class, we would both be in trouble for being late, so we just stayed at the edge of the woods and watched until the busses came. I had won the bully's respect.

"By the way," he said, "I'm sorry I made fun of you."

"'Bout time. Apology accepted. Now don't worry, this stays between us, I promise."

I think Andy might have walked home so that no one would see his wounds, but I took the bus and slept all the way home. Then I got in bed and slept some more. I have no idea how long I slept. In later years my grandmother would tell me that she tried several times to wake me but that I wouldn't budge.

What finally did wake me up was the most pleasant surprise I could hope for. It began with someone gently tugging at me, and then a sweet, raspy, sexy voice voice.

"Wakey-wakey, it's your numero uno lovey ducky!"

I slowly opened my eyes and smiled. "Nosedive," I whispered. I thought I was hallucinating. I didn't expect my love to be back so soon.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "Your mom and grandma say you've been asleep for hours."

"Ok," I whispered. "Just hungry. So hungry. Get me candy."

He looked at me with those sweet eyes and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"I was hoping you could come meet my mom," he said. "I've brought all sorts of people for you to meet. They're at our secret spot at the barn, waiting."

"Not yet," I said quietly. It occurred to me I had never really told Nosedive the whole truth about my rages. Sometimes they didn't happen when I wanted them to. Other times they happened at the worst moments. This last one happened at a good time, but my body was still exhausted from it.

"I need carbs," I explained. "Nurture me, then I'll go meet your family, and I'll explain some things that you need to know."

"Ok," he said. "I'll go get you some food. Get some rest." He nuzzled me gently with his bill.

Before he could go, I tugged on his faded Nuclear Assault shirt. "Nosedive, tell me what you said, before you left for your planet."

"I said, 'Very soon, my love.'"

That was enough to give me some new energy. Nosedive was back and he loved me. I squeezed my pillow, imagining it was him.

Nosedive went and scavenged through the cabinets. When he came back to my room, he had all sorts of goodies for me: Ice cream, microwave French fries, fruit roll-ups, vanilla wafers, Pop-Tarts, and some generic brand root beer from the garage. He sat the plate down before me.

I slowly got up. "That's what I'm talkin' about."

"So what's wrong?" he asked, as he sat down beside me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing's wrong." I grinned. "I have you, and I flew into a rage and beat the crap out of a bully. But you can't tell anybody. I promised I'd keep it secret."

"Was this the bully who wrote the hate note?"

"No, a different one. Almost everyone at my school is a bully. This one was making fun of my singing and I guess it just made me fly off the handle because metal is one of the only things that makes me happy, besides you. I don't want some bullies ruining metal for me and making me hate my singing, when metal is the only safe way to let out my rage. I need it. It's medicine for me."

"Well, you have an extremely badass voice. Don't let that little asswipe tell you any different. So. Do you go into these rages often?"

"They used to happen more. But when I come out of them, I need lots of rest. And food. So nurture me."

He nuzzled me with his bill and said, "Nurture, nurture, nurture!"

I kissed him and continued gorging on junk food.

"I hope my lack of impulse control won't stop me from being a good spy," I said.

"If it does," said Nosedive, "you can just go public about being a vigilante. Like me! With these berserk rages of yours, you could be like the Hulk! Or Wolverine!"

I laughed. "You'll have to let me see your comics some time."

When I finally finished my meal, I made myself stand up. I was a little disoriented. "Usually I'm cranky after one of these, so it might not be a good time to meet your family."

"You'll like my family," he said. "My mom and my sister, that is. My dad didn't make it…"

"I'm sorry…" Death can be so hard to talk about. Nosedive took my hand and we slowly walked outside in the direction of the barn, where I usually met with the ducks.

Along the way, Nosedive explained everything about his trip to Peeravara (a.k.a. Puckworld). Apparently, the ducks had found Mallory's sister and some friends who were running an orphanage. Canard has actually survived and had gone on to become a guard at the dimensional prison, who also worked as a volunteer at the orphanage."

"I can't wait for you to meet everybody," said Nosedive as we neared the barn. "You're really gonna like my mom and my buddy Frindel!"

Soon, Nosedive opened the door to reveal a clubhouse/bard full of aliens lounging on the chairs and mattresses I'd furnished the place with.

"Mom and Canard don't know English yet," Dive explained. "So I'll translate." In his language, he went on to introduce me to Canard, Rory (Dive and Wing's mom), Dirk, (Rory's boyfriend), and Frindel, who was the cutest, tiniest little bat-like creature I had ever seen. I couldn't understand anything he said, but he spoke with this adorable, squeaky little voice and seemed uber friendly. Wildwing and the other original Mighty Ducks were also there.

To my surprise, Loki, my Chihuahua who could now shapeshift into a duck, was there as well. He must have come up to see the ducks while I was asleep.

"About time you got up," said Loki.

"Sorry," I said. "I was pooped."

"Well, it's good to see you again," said Wildwing.

Everyone made me feel like part of the group, which was why I loved the Ducks so much. The only one who didn't seem sure about me was Nosedive's mother. Even sitting on a barrel and holding a baby, she looked threatening. Her eyes were piercing and her light hair fell in waves below her shoulders. She was small, and looked more like Nosedive than Wildwing.

I got the impression she didn't want just anyone dating her son, so I would have to prove myself.

"I'll tell her all about you," said Nosedive. "She's like you, she loves folklore and stories too. She's the reason why I always believed in Drake DuCaine."

Nosedive began speaking to his mom in his native tongue.

His mother replied. I had no idea what she said.

"She wants to tell you a story," said Nosedive. "About the _Sali Iska_. I'll translate and draw you a picture, 'causeI fucking love this story." He took a pen and some paper from the table and translated as his mom told a story about a small, dark green creature that could only live inside of shadows. It was believed that if someone weak of heart stepped into the shadow, the _Sali Iska_ would devour their soul. But if you were strong of heart, it would guard you and maybe even grant you a wish. But since people are so prone to change, many people who were once strong of heart and made friends with the _Sali Iska_ ended up changing and being devoured by it.

The story was utterly spooky, and I ate it up! When Nosedive was done drawing, he showed me his picture of the _Sali Iska._ To me it looked like a cross between a dog and a frog, so I began calling it the shadow dog-frog. I couldn't wait to learn more about the myths and legends of my ducky's planet.

Nosedive wrapped his arm around me and said, "She's strong. The _Sali Iska_ wouldn't eat her. She's going to help us stop these lame-o PPOF people." He repeated it in his language.

"I'll try," I said. I'd signed up for a class that was supposedly going to brainwash me into conformity, but I doubted the PPOFers could ever brainwash me, so I decided to take the class and use it as a spying opportunity. I'd learn their techniques as well as the layout of their institution.

"I should get a chance to gather some info Friday," I announced. Nosedive translated for those who didn't understand. Then he pulled me into a big hug. "Until then, we have a lot of catching up to do! I want you to meet Dave, the dude who does our cartoon! It's about time for me to meet with him anyway."

"Is he here?" I didn't see any humans among the crowd.

"Nope. We'll have to go to Cali."


	4. Chapter 4

"How can I go to Cali?" I asked Nosedive. "I've already missed a lot of school. I can't miss anymore."

"We'll think of something."

"I hope it doesn't involve lying to my folks. I don't like lying to my folks."

"I'll do the talking, then. Come on. Let's see your folks." In his native tongue, he told the other ducks we would be right back and to make themselves comfy. At that, Nosedive and I started walking back toward my house. I didn't know what he was planning, but I couldn't resist a chance to be with him.

"This'll be great," said Nosedive. "You'll get to come to Anaheim with us and see how Silverwing (a.k.a. my dog, Loki) does in training camp."

I couldn't help it. I was excited for Loki. He was finally going to be one of the Mighty Ducks.

We opened the door to my house to discover Mom and Grandma sitting at the kitchen table discussing me.

"Hey, guys!" said Mom happily. "Fang, I'm glad Nosedive was able to get you up!"

"Sorry," I said. "I was just really tired."

"You're always tired," said Mom. "And you look like you've been in a fight."

I couldn't lie to my mom. "I'm sworn to secrecy about the fight. Which went well, I might add. My biggest problem is fatigue. I'm just tired a lot."

"I'm worried about her," said Grandma.

"Me too," said Nosedive. "I think maybe we should fly her to Anaheim and get our team doctor to give her a free check-up. She'll get a doctor's excuse."

"You'd do that?" asked Mom.

"Of course."

"Oh, that would be great," said a very relieved Grandma.

"But Fang," Mom said, "you need to stop getting in fights. One day you'll get caught, or meet someone who's stronger than you and get hurt really bad."

"Yeah, yeah," I smiled. I couldn't hide my joy. I was going to go to Anaheim with Nosedive!

"Is Loki gonna go too?" Mom asked. Training camp is soon.

"Yup," I said.

"Well," said Grandma, "he better still come visit us. His damn wife and kids are living in our loft."

It was true, Loki's feline wife and mixed species children were living with us, and Grandma was not happy about it.

"He'll come back," I assured her. "He's a good dad. But I'm sure it'll be tough being a hockey player and a dad."

I tugged Nosedive's hand gently and got him to follow me into my room. I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd told me earlier. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him toward me.

"Is it true?" I asked him. "That I'm your love?"

He nodded and looked down at me expectantly. I should have told him earlier that I love him, but I'd never said that to any guy before. Besides, I'd just met Nosedive. I held him even tighter and grinned, not sure what to say. "I…I can't wait to go to California with you."

Nosedive is a very blunt, to the point guy. "Do you love me?" he asked.

I grinned really big, feeling a warm tingly sensation everywhere. "I think so. I do! I think I love you, but I literally just met you." I hoped my answer wouldn't disappoint him. "I'll know in time," I added.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too."

He got on the bed with me and began nuzzling me. Duck kisses. They were very light touches, which almost tickled. I started feeling things I wasn't ready to feel yet.

"Hold off," I said. "That feels a little too good. Let's just talk."

"I guess we need to get back to the others."

"No, not yet." I wanted time alone with him, even though I wasn't really sure I was ready for those feelings I was having. I wanted to hold him. So we laid on the bed for a few minutes, holding each other. Gazing at each other.

"So tell me more about that fight," he said.

"I'm not sure I want to talk about it," I admitted. "I'm just glad I didn't cry. Sometimes I get weird after my rages, and occasionally that includes crying. I'm glad I didn't cry after beating up that bastard Andy Coggs. I'd rather die than let him see me cry...But I'm glad he's OK."

"They're so mean to you!"

"Doesn't mean I should fight with them. I think Mom's on the verge of making me go to therapy."

"You're a sweetheart," he said. "You feel remorse for beating up on these people who bullied you, and I bet they've never felt guilty a day in their lives. Maybe now that guy'll think twice."

"You don't agree with starting fights," I said. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

"Technically they're the ones starting the fights."

"That makes me feel a little better."

I kissed him. Soon we were tonging each other, holding each other tightly. The world seemed to stand still. I don't know how long we were like that.

But I didn't want to go too far, so after a while, I put an end to it. "Let's go hang out with the others," I suggested.

"Ok! Maybe we should sleep up there."

"There's not much room, but I could grab some sleeping bags and let the others have the mattresses."

"Yeah! Let's get a big one so we can both fit."

Being stuffed in a sleeping bag with Nosedive sounded really nice. I got an old pillow and a sleeping bag out of the utility room, then told my folks we were camping out in the barn.

"Have fun," said Mom. Since I was going to see the Mighty Ducks' doctor, there was no need to worry about oversleeping and missing school. Nosedive was such a genius. I assumed I'd even be able to get a note from their doctor and my excuse would be as good as gold.

When we got back to the barn, everyone seemed relaxed. "She's coming with us tomorrow!" Nosedive announced.

"So am I," said Loki. "I guess I should go see Amber and the kids."

I picked Loki up and gave him a kiss on his cute little Chihuahua head before he left.

"I guess the rest of us are going to go get a hotel," said Mallory. "We'll be back to get you and Silverwing tomorrow."

"I thought you were a hardass who liked sleeping in barns," Nosedive taunted.

"I just thought you and Wildwing would like to stay here and camp out with Canard and your family," she said. "Don't let the rest of us get in the way."

"If that's what you want," Wildwing said, "But you're welcome to stay.

Something was definitely up with Mallory.

In the end, it was just me, Nosedive, Wildwing, Canard, Rory, Dirk, little Snow, and Frindel staying at the barn. It worked out, though. There wouldn't have been much room otherwise. Though Canard couldn't speak English yet, I noticed that he was being very cuddly with Wildwing. I wondered if that had anything to do with Mallory's bad mood.

"Don't stare," Nosedive whispered to me, as I was observing the two lovebirds. "I know it's unusual on this planet, but on my planet you can love and marry whoever you want."

"I'm not homophobic," I whispered back. "Just surprised. This was never hinted at in the cartoon." I immediately stopped staring.

"Cause the bigwigs in charge didn't want it in the show," said Dive. "That's Earth for ya. They don't want us to reveal too much about our culture."

"Ah." I wondered how many PPOF members had infiltrated Disney.

I was still pretty tired, so I went ahead and started unrolling the sleeping bag. Usually I hate being small, but I was grateful for it when I realized I could fit in the sleeping bag with Nosedive. It was a snug fit though.

Once everyone was settled into a nice place to sleep, little Frindel flew around and put out the lanterns. It was so nice and quiet, save for the sound of Wildwing and Canard muttering sweet nothings to each other and Nosedive's mom and her boyfriend comforting the crying baby, who soon when to sleep.

"Let's tell ghost stories," I suggested.

"Yeah! Why don't you tell some and I can translate them for my mom? She loves that stuff!"

"Ok. I know the perfect one. It takes place on farmland, much like this." I went on to tell a tale I'd heard from my grandmother, about when she and her grandmother had gone walking and saw a man come toward them, only later to disappear into thin air. It wasn't exactly scary, but it was spooky because it was a true story.

"She liked it," said Nosedive. "She likes you. She says you're a tough little human."

I smiled and nuzzled Nosedive's neck, listening to the crickets, frogs, and owls outside. Being so close to him, it was hard to ignore his body. Let's just say he was definitely physically attracted to me. I could tell. But I didn't act on it. I just enjoyed being close to him.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I've been busy getting ready for graduation and also working on a story based on MDTAS but with original characters. It's still in fetal stages at the moment but if anyone wants a preview feel free to message me on here.


	5. Chapter 5

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Ol Ep ata Yevir! Kerfka kerfka!"

It was Frindel, that tiny little white ball of winged fluff known as a streel. His shrill voice jolted me out of my sleep and I remembered that I was in a sleeping bag on the barn floor with Nosedive, his feathery arms wrapped around me. He grumbled, no more ready to get up than I was.

"What's Frindel saying?" I asked sleepily. Loki came and started licking my nose.

"He's ready for an adventure," Nosedive replied. "He wants us to hurry and get up."

"I wish I had his energy." Reluctantly, I unzipped the sleeping bag and got up to stretch. Everyone else was already awake, being good guests by straightening up. Wildwing was particularly working hard, while Rory and Dirk took care of little Snow.

"Ready to see Anaheim?" Wildwing asked.

I grinned and nodded, suddenly feeling more awake. The farthest from home I'd ever been was New Mexico, which was quite an adventure, and now I was going to see California!

"You guys are going to have to teach me your language," I said.

"We can," said Loki, "on the way."

"I think Mallory and the others are already on their way to Anaheim," said Wildwing, "so we need to hurry."

As soon as we got the barn straightened up, we walked to the house so I could say my goodbyes to my family. Loki hurriedly went to the loft to say bye to Amber and the puppies and kittens.

Mom and Grandma made Wildwing swear on his life that he would take care of me, which he did.

"And remember," Grandma said to Nosedive, "you're the man in Penelope's life. You have to protect her as the weaker vessel."

I crossed my arms.

"She's tougher than you think," said Nosedive, and I smiled.

"Besides," I said, "Who says me and him are an item?" I was still hesitant to talk to my family about the whole relationship thing because I didn't want them to think I was giving in and becoming "normal." I felt guilty when Nosedive gave me a hurt look.

"Item or not," said Mom, "you should take these." She handed me some condoms right there in front of everybody, in addition to some money to buy food and souvenirs with. I'm not usually the blushing type, but I guarantee I turned tomato red.

"On that note," I said, "Bye everyone, I love you." I gave Mom and Grandma hugs. Granddaddy was asleep in the recliner with a newspaper over his face, but I hugged him too. Then we went to Canard's ship because Mallory and the others had the Aerowing. This time Wildwing had the role of copilot, so Nosedive had more freedom to focus on me.

Every time I rode in a space ship I had a flashback to one of the first dreams I had ever had about the Mighty Ducks, before I had even met them. I lost my stomach as we took off, much like on a roller coaster.

"So," I said. "Your language."

"Yeah?" asked Nosedive. "What do you want to lean first?"

"Well, I know 'Puckworld' is _Peeravara_ and I take it _Cieko_ means 'love.' Tell me how to cuss."

Nosedive laughed and looked over at Canard, who was flying the ship. "Canard'll love that!" he said. "Well, for starters, a _Yask Warkis_ is a pig fucker. At least, our version of a pig fucker."

I laughed, but Canard gave Nosedive a disapproving look. Frindel came, sat in my lap and giggled. He weighed no more than a quarter.

Nosedive continued, "And a _Wivek Warkis_ is a mother fucker. But "fuck" by itself isn't a bad word. It's only an insult if you're accused of fucking family or you know, another species."

"Like a human?" I asked, though I was nowhere near ready to have sex with Nosedive.

He shrugged. "I don't see any shame in becoming a human _warkis_ one day."

" _Kallis!"_ spat Canard.

"He says 'enough,'" Nosedive explained with a laugh. "He's got a _rak_ up his _drext._ "

"A what?" I inquired.

"A hockey stick up his ass."

Frindel and I both laughed until we each snorted like a _Yask_.

Suddenly Nosedive's mom spoke up. "Lon drext lirnn suh kardokar."

"'And ass germs for brains,'" Nosedive translated. "Mom can be just as offensive as me."

I smiled and laughed, thinking of my own sometimes crude mom.

As we flew, Nosedive continued to teach me more Puckworld vulgarity and the names of several types of food from his home planet. It was very interesting, but overwhelming. The only things that were easy to remember were the cuss words. He assured me that I'd learn it all eventually. We also made an effort to teach English to the others. It was a great way to pass time during the long flight.

Finally, we arrived at the Pond. Mallory had already landed the Aerowing in the hangar inside, so we landed behind the building and went inside through the back entrance. I was overtaken with excitement and couldn't stop screaming, "The POND! We're at the POND!"

"I can't wait to show you around!" said Dive. The ducks led us down to the Ready Room and I looked upon Drake One in amazement. Everything looked just like it did in the show, only real! It was a dream come true!

Mallory, Duke, Tanya, and Grin were already there. Duke had some jazz playing on the CD player, and he was sipping some scotch.

"Good choice of music," Loki commented.

"We're glad you're here safe," said Grin.

Tanya nodded.

"Glad Canard finally gets to see the place," said Duke.

Mallory said nothing.

"This'll be my stomping grounds now!" said Loki. "I'm a Mighty Duck!" He started mark his territory by lifting his leg on the wall, but then remembered that he was actually a duck, not a dog. He laughed sheepishly, embarrassed.

Shortly after our arrival, Phil came in, voice raised. "About time you got here! You guys need to start practicing! Like yesterday!"

"I don't even have any equipment yet," said Loki.

"You're a dog," said Phil. "They don't make hockey equipment for dogs."

"I can shapeshift," said Loki. "But I'd rather not do that right now. I don't think you want to see a naked drake."

Phil wasn't fazed. He'd seen many things since the Ducks came to Earth. "You can go in the locker room and Wildwing can get your measurements."

Wildwing looked down nervously, for fear that Canard wouldn't like that too much.

"I'll, uh, try to get my own measurements," said Loki.

"You gotta come check out my room!" said Nosedive.

"We don't have time for all that!" Phil whined. "I won't have my team sucking this season and losing money for the franchise!"

"Hey," said Dive, "We've got all of tomorrow to prepare for the hockey season. I'm showing my girl around."

"This is serious!" said Phil.

"We'll bring you back some Chinese," Nosedive insisted.

"Ooh! OK!" Phil licked his lips in a way I had seen Loki do many times when he smelled people food.

"Phil's easy to deal with," Nosedive whispered to me. "You just have to know how."

I smirked.

"Come check everything out," said Nosedive enthusiastically. "Then we'll go visit Dave."

"Alright!" I followed Nosedive to his room, which was full of comic books and metal posters. There was a bunk bed that he and his brother shared.

"Now that Canard's back," Nosedive explained, "Wildwing's gonna be sleeping with him. So that means we get this room to ourselves! We can stay up as late as we want."

In spite of myself, I got a little physically excited at the thought of staying in Nosedive's room. I tried to picture myself in a cold shower. Sexual feelings were weird. I wasn't ready for them.

Nosedive went through his comic books and found all the ones with Wolverine. "Here's a berserker for ya," he said. "He's a total badass. You can probably relate to the Hulk, too." He got more comics and piled them into my arms. "I don't usually let people borrow these, but you're special." He winked at me and I thought I would melt.

Next thing I knew, I'd set the comics down and was wrapping my arms around Nosedive. I found myself kissing him. When I realized what I was doing, I backed away and said, "Show me the rest."

He gave me a pouty look. "But!"

"But nothing, I got a little too carried away."

"Aw, alright…"

He went on to show me the kitchen, the infirmary, Tanya's work area, and all the other parts of the Ducks' secret headquarters. We ended the tour back in the kitchen, where Nosedive got me a soda. "Ready to meet Dave?" he asked me.

"Sure!" I'd been dying to meet the guy behind the animated series.


End file.
